I woke up Saturday and was busy with lessons throughout the entire day

I woke up Saturday and was busy with lessons throughout the entire day. I barely even say Adam and the one time I got a break, I had to ride Garnet. I didn't even eat lunch.

The day had finally passed and we were finishing up with the horses.

I had told Dad we'd be late and to eat dinner without us. It was definitely a crazy day. And I was right. While I watched Adam put the last blanket on one of the horses, I looked outside where it was pitch black now.

I went over to sit on the stairs to the loft. A couple of minutes later, he climbed half way up and came to sit beside me.

"Livi, I can tell there's something on your mind. Will you please tell me?"

I stared into his eyes and saw thoughtfulness spread throughout them with deep concern.

"Yeah. There has been something I've been thinking about," I said slowly.

"Then what is it?" he asked encouragingly.

"You'll probably laugh at me and think it's stupid," I said shrugging it off.

He took my face in his hand and brought it up to meet his eyes. I almost had to loom away with the amount of intensity there was in them.

"I would never laugh at you or think something that is bothering you is stupid."

He was looking straight into my eyes.

It took me a couple of moments to recover, but then I went on.

"Well, I've just been wondering about how you know so much about me."

He just looked at me confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Like the other night with Mike, and the whole thing about me not liking music."

He was looking at me now, with a gentle expression.

"I'm not an idiot Livi," he said with a smile. "I've ridden with you lots of times and you have not once ever turned the radio on."

I had to wonder what else he had discovered about me.

"And what else do you know about me?" I asked with a teasing smile.

He smiled back with relief now, knowing what I was thinking.

"Well, I noticed you bite your bottom lip when you are in uncomfortable situations. And, you twitch your nose when you're pretending to think about something but your really not. I also noticed that you love sour gummy worms but absolutely hate peanut m&ms."

I was shocked that he had known that much about me. And I had never told him any of those things before. He just happened to notice on his own just by watching me. It was sweet, and cute, and I couldn't help but blush.

"Wow Adam. I had no idea you knew that much about me," I said a little quietly.

I noticed he look over towards Flint, and back at me.

"I also noticed that you don't like Flint. You don't look at him, pet him, ride him, or anything."

I suddenly grew very numb and cold. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. Not here. Not with Adam! I tried to control them and they finally went back down. Before I could say anything, Adam got really serious.

"Livi, since you asked me what's been on your mind, I was wondering if I could ask you something."

He was looking at me with curious, caring eyes.

"Yeah," I said casually.

I couldn't come up with any idea to what he might ask.

"Why were you acting so strange at school? And why was everyone treating you like you don't exist? It was like you were invisible. And then when you talked that day at the lunch table, their mouths fell open when they realized you said something. What exactly was going on?"

"It's a long story," I said as an excuse.

"We have all night," he said caring.

I took in a deep breath. It was time I told him what was going on. He was the only person I let myself grow close to and he was the only person I was going to tell the real truth to.

"I used to be popular Adam. I used to be Jessica's best friend. I went to all the parties, had lots of friends, and even a good-looking boyfriend. After my mom died, everything changed. I was walking around lifeless and after a while, my friends and teachers gave up on me. It went on like this for months. And then you got here," I said slowly.

I could feel the tears coming back.

"You changed my life Adam. I became myself again the more I hung around you. I was changing back to how I used to be."

I paused. I couldn't go on that much longer. Just then Adam took me by surprise.

"But why Livi?" he asked confused. "Why was your mother's death so hard for you?"

My tears started spilling over like waterfalls. I was sobbing now and I couldn't control my breathing.

"Because it was all my fault. If it wasn't for me, she'd still be alive right now," I said out of breath.

I looked into his eyes. They were filled with compassion and sadness.

"You see, Mom was helping me look for a new horse to buy since Dawson had retired. After months of looking, we thought we finally found the right one. And he was only twenty miles away. How convenient huh?" I said with a small, lifeless, laugh. "We had already paid for him and were coming to pick him up in three days. I was impatient and begged her to go pick him up earlier. She agreed to go but she said to hurry because a storm was coming through. We left right after her last lesson of the day. On the way back home, we got caught in the storm. She was concentrating on the road and I was bubbling with excitement about bringing him home. I was talking to her about buying a new saddle and I was getting annoyed because she said the one I had now was fine. It was old, cracking, and I needed a better one for the higher levels. She was getting aggravated that I was being persistent and we got into a big argument."

I had to stop to regain myself.

"I know what your thinking. What a spoiled brat. I was on the way home with a new horse and I was arguing about a new saddle."

I was looking at my feet, but I could feel Adam's eyes watching my every movement.

"Then I saw a flash of lightning that lit the entire sky. We were coming around a curve and a tree in front of us got struck and came down on us. I don't know why it didn't kill us both. It came down only on Mom's side of the car, leaving me and the horse unhurt."

I was sobbing now and had to stop for a few minutes to control my breathing. Adam wrapped his arm around me and hugged me close to him. I buried my face into his shirt, crying. I knew I had to regain myself and finish the story.

"I could here the horse thrashing in the trailer, scared and panicking. I started yelling for Mom, making sure she was okay, but she wouldn't answer me. Her body was pinned underneath the tree. The next thing I knew, an ambulance pulled up and took her away. They took me in to, making sure I wasn't hurt. I had to have stitches on my forehead, but that was all. I ran over to her room where she was hooked to all these wires, her face had scrapes all over it from the branches of the tree. The nurses were running around frantically trying to keep her alive."

Adam could see how much I was hurting and it hurt him too to see me in such pain.

I was staring ahead, reliving this horrible nightmare.

"I remember standing there in the doorway, while everyone ran around me. I was trying to look for any sign that she was going to be okay. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing rapidly. I remember standing there, in a sea of chaos, watching my mother die."

I started sobbing again, this one like never before. I had kept the hurt out for so long and now, I was letting it all come back and engulf me. I hadn't cried this hard since the accident.

I sat there in Adam's arms, for what seemed like forever, crying hysterically. And he just held me tightly, knowing that I was hurting and trying to comfort me.

After a while, I took my head away from his chest and looked up at him with tears in my eyes.

He looked at me, the whole puzzle coming together in his head.

"And the horse you're mom bought you is Flint," he said slowly.

"Yeah." I said weakly. "And I can't even look at him because every time I do, I think of the accident, and mom, and…it's just too hard. But I can't get rid of him because he's one of the closest things I have left to her before she died."

He looked at me reassuringly.

"Flint is a wonderful horse. He deserves to be ridden and he loves you Livi. He wants you to ride him and your mom would want you to have him."

He was saying it slowly to drill it through my head.

"Do you want to know the worst part about this whole thing?" I asked sadly.

He just looked at me, pain in his eyes.

"The last thing I ever said to my mom was 'I hate you'."

He just looked back into my eyes, trying to find words to comfort me.

"Livi, your mom loved you. And that's all that matters. She wouldn't have cared that your last words were that you hated her. All she wants is for you to be happy. She would have never wanted you to hold her death over you like a burden. It was a horrible accident and there was nothing you could have done to stop it."

I just looked at him with weary eyes. I couldn't believe he had said that.

"You mean, you don't hate me or think I'm a horrible person?"

He stared at me shocked.

"What? No! Livi, you're the most amazing person I've ever met."

He was cupping me face in his hand now, staring down at me with his beautiful eyes.

"You're smart, you're pretty, and I've never met anyone like you Livi. Ever since the first day I saw you, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you for one moment of my day."

I looked at him in disbelief. I couldn't believe that this whole time, Adam had really liked me. He thought I was amazing.

And at that moment, things seemed to come together. At that moment, I became whole again. Adam had helped heal me and now, I felt complete again. Something I thought I'd never feel again.

He tilted my head up and pressed his lips to mine. His arm was still around me, and now his other was placed on my face, caressing it. His lips were soft and warm, as if he didn't want to push me after I'd been hurting so much. But I wanted more.

I pushed against his lips urgently and I could feel his lips turn into a smile.

He pulled me tightly toward him and his kiss suddenly became more insistent, like he had been holding out for so long and he couldn't' stand it any longer.

I pulled away from him, his face inches from mine.

"Thank you Adam," I said.

"For what?" he asked a little confused.

"For changing me. For believing in me when everyone else had given up."

I looked up at him and smiled.

"Thank you."

He just smiled warmly back at me.

"Your welcome."

He put my lips to his. This time, it wasn't so careful. It was strong, and persistent. He really cared about me.

I gave him everything, pushing my lips against his, my hand on his gorgeous face. It was one of the best kisses of my life. It was amazing because, we both couldn't get enough of each other and at that very moment, we felt the exact same about each other.

I couldn't get enough of him, and he clearly couldn't get enough of me.

We just sat there, kissing each other for several minutes, taking each other in. At times I would get dizzy and would have to remember to breath, and he would just laugh.

"Am I making you lightheaded?" he asked teasingly.

His smile was even more breathtaking than before.

"Kind of," I said with a laugh.

I reached up and kissed him once more and then put my head against his chest.

We sat there, his arms wrapped around me, my arms around his, just sitting there holding each other. It felt wonderful being in his arms, and I wished I could have sat there forever.

Adam kissed me softly on my forehead.

"Thank you Livi," he said.

"For what?" I asked softly.

He leaned down and kissed me softly.

"For showing me the real you."